Magazine pencil



Oct, 11, 1949. M. F. coMsTocK MAGAZINE PENCIL Filed 00.1,. 24, 1945 INVENTOR MnLLAnD F.' Cons-'roca BY- ATTO NEYs Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAGAZINE PENCIL MillardF. Comstock, Buffalo, N. Y. Application October.v 24, 1945, Serial No. 624,156

This invention relates to writing instruments, and more specifically to pencils of thetypehaving progressively feeding leads.

An object of the invention is to provide a writing instrument of the character ldescribed wherein the lead feeding control mechanism automatically locks itself into variously adjusted positions and is of simplified and improved form. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the specification hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, through a pencil-of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a top plan thereof.

The invention isillustrated in the drawing to comprise a lead penci1 type writing instrument includinga point portion Ill which is centrally bored to accommodatein slide-fitting relation therein the writing lead which is illustrated at I 2. A tubular casing Ill which may be formed of any suitable material such as plastic or metal or the like, is fitted at one end upon the point element I to extend therefrom axially of the lead carrying bore portion I B of the element I il.

The casing I4 is longitudinally slotted as indicated at I8 in a side wall portion thereof, and a lead feeding control rod 2l) is slip-tted at one of its ends into the bore I6 of the element Ill so as to back-up the lead I2 and also cause the lead I2 to be progressively projected from the point end of the element Ill in response to longitudinal displacement of the control rod 2li relative to the casing I4. At its other end the con-1 trol rod 29 is laterally bent as indicated at 22 and thereupon extends through the slotted portion I8 of the casing I4 at a point remote from said element lil, and terminates in a bent boss portion 25 which is thereby disposed externally of the pencil casing I4. The casing Il?, is externally serrated or otherwise formed with series f of detents disposed alongside the slot l, as indicated at 2B; the detents 26 being so formed as to provide series of notches into which the boss portion 25 of the control rod 20 is adapted to rest as the control rod is adjusted to various positions longitudinally of the casing lil.

It is a particular feature of the invention that the bore I6 of the element I is of such dimension as to closely nt upon the control rod and the length of the lateral portion so much less than the radial distance from the axis of the pencil to the detents that the rod is always deflected against the wall of the bore whereby to support the latter in rigid relation at any and all feed control positions of the rod 2E. The rod 2 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-19) 20 is formed of spring steel'or'any other material having suitable elasticity characteristics so that the mounting of the inner end of the control rod relative to the element I0 will cause the boss portion 25 of the control rod to be elastically iased into a corresponding notch 2t. Thus, at each longitudinally adjusted position of the control rod 20 the mounting thereof and the resiliency characteristics thereof cooperate to provide automatic locking of the control rod relative to the casing I4; and thus it will be understood that in order to feed the leadv as required for writing purposes it is only necessary for the user to manually deflect the boss or handle portion 25 of the control rod farther outwardly against the resiliency of the body portion of the control rod so as to'unlock the `control rod from the casing Ill, whereupon the rod may be displaced longitudinally to push the lead I2 to project the required distance from the writing point of the element IIJ. Upon release of the control handle 25 the resiliency of the rod 20 will cause the latter to return toward its normal set position, whereby the handle or boss portion 25 will be seated within a notch so that the control rod 2B is thereby locked against retrograde displacement relative to the casing I il so that the writing lead I2 will be thereby backed-up by the control rod 20 so as to resist writing pressures against the lead. Thus, it will be appreciated that the essential operative elements o-f the writing instrument of the invention are provided in structurally simplied and functionally improved form, and that the structural elementsof the writing instrument of the invention are particularly adapted to be relatively inexpensively manufactured and assembled to provide finally an unusually rugged Writing instrument which is fool-proof in operation.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the casing Iii is preferably extended beyond the range of movement of the control handle 25 so as to provide within the casing a reservoir for spare writing leads. Such provision may be readily effected by simply inserting a plug 30 into the casing I4 so as to pro- Vide a bottom for the spare lead reservoir, and an eraser may be slip-fitted into the outer end of the casing I4 as indicated at 32 so as to provide simultaneously a readily available eraser and an outer end plug for the spare lead reservoir,

so that a supply of spare leads as indicated at 3d that the control rod 20 will preferably be formed of some highly resilient material to provide the automatic adjustment locking feature described hereinabove. Also, the extreme end of the element I will preferably be longitudinally slotted as indicated at 35 and squeezed into such form as to frictionally engage the writing lead as it is pushed upon by the control rod 2B so as to resist unintended forward feeding of the writing lead. It will also be appreciated that although only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the inven-` tion is not so limited but that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pencil comprising a body having a bore to accommodate in sliding relation therein a pencil lead, a lead feed control rod slidably mounted at one of its ends within said body bore to press against said lead for lead feeding purposes, said control rod and said body bore being so relatively dimensioned as to permit longitudinal sliding of said rod relative to said body while being axially guided thereby, said rod being formed of resilient material and having its other end portion bent laterally and terminating in a head, said body having a detent `disposed to engage said head whereby to latch said rod in a feed adjustment position relative to said body, said rod being adapted to be elastically deflected by pulling outwardly upon said head end to permit unthat the rod is always deected against the wall of said bore.

2. A progressive feed pencil comprising a tubular body having a writing point portion bored to 5 accommodate in sliding relation therein a pencil lead, a lead feed control rod slidably mounted at one of its ends within the said bore, said control rod and said body bored portion being so relatively dimensioned as to permit longitudinal sliding of said rod relative to said body while the former is axially guided thereby, said body being longitudinally slotted in a side wall thereof, said rod being formed of resilient material and having its outer end portion bent laterally to extend through said body slot and terminating in a boss, said body having a series of detents disposed to engage said boss at various positions thereof corresponding to longitudinally sliding adjustments of said rod relative to said body, said rod and laterally bent portion thereof being so constructed and arranged as to cause said rod to be always deflected against the wall of said bore, whereby said boss automatically locks said rod in its various feed adjustment positions while the rod may be elastically deflected by pulling upon said boss to disengage the latter vfrom said detents whereupon the control rod may be manually displaced longitudinally ofthe body for lead feeding purposes. MILLARD F. COMSTOCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 561,734 Steele June 9, 1896 

